Sela drew in a deep breath before continuing, her voice softer than before.
"I was born in South Lumeria Village,"
she said quietly.
"It lies to the south of here."
She lowered her gaze to the ground.
"I was seventeen at the time… and one of the mages tasked with protecting the village."
Ryn shifted slightly, listening in silence.
"But I was… slow,"
Sela gave a bitter smile.
"Even a simple spell like fire took me months to master.
I was more of a burden than any real help."
She fell silent for a moment, then continued—her voice steady, yet faintly trembling.
"Then one day, a large group of Carami attacked our village.
Everyone fought with everything they had, but I…"
Her hands clenched tightly.
"All I could do was curl up, trembling in the corner of a fruit crate, hiding just to stay alive."
Ryn felt something heavy press against his chest, yet he remained silent.
"Our village was small,"
Sela went on.
"We didn't have the money to hire a Divine or an Arch for protection.
There were only a handful of village guards."
She closed her eyes briefly.
"In the end… we couldn't hold them back."
Silence fell over the garden.
A cold wind brushed softly through the leaves.
Ryn didn't know what to say.
He could only clench his fists on his lap—not because he didn't understand,
but because he understood all too well.
Sela continued, her voice shaking more noticeably now.
"All I could do was beg the gods for help…
but then they found me.
They dragged me out from behind the crates like wild beasts."
"I struggled.
I fought with everything I had."
"Around me, the bodies of the villagers were scattered across the ground.
Some had been devoured alive.
Many women were violated, their screams for help echoing through the chaos."
"But no one…
no god…
reached out to save us."
"I couldn't bear what I was seeing.
And I was so terrified of what was about to happen to me
that I wet myself in fear."
"They tried to tear my clothes apart…"
Sela fell silent for a moment before drawing in a deep breath and continuing.
"And just before they could do anything more…
a sudden flash of light descended from the heavens."
"Countless spears of light rained down upon them,
cutting them down like falling leaves.
When I turned toward the source of that radiance,
I saw Master Aurelia standing tall—
another volley of luminous lances already forming in her grasp."
"Then, large numbers of Divines and Archs rushed in and finished them off."
"But my village had already been reduced to ruins.
Only a handful of survivors remained."
"Master Aurelia told us we could relocate to Central,
or settle in another village instead.
She even offered to speak with the village leaders on our behalf.
But everyone insisted on staying,
determined to rebuild what had been lost."
"So she gave them her own money…
to help the villagers start over."
"As for me…"
Sela's voice softened.
"I had no one left.
My parents, my siblings—
all of them were gone."
"I didn't want to stay there anymore.
So Master Aurelia took me in and intended to teach me magic.
But I was too slow, so I asked to serve as a maid instead."
"And that's how I've remained here…
as a maid, ever since."
Sela turned to Ryn with a gentle smile.
A faint shimmer of tears lingered in her eyes—
memories of a brutality that time could never erase.
Ryn listened in silence, his expression visibly darkened.
Her story was painfully close to his own.
He spoke softly.
"I see…
That's why you love and respect Master Aurelia so much."
After a brief pause, he continued,
"If you were seventeen back then,
you must be twenty-four now.
You've probably seen many talented students come and go, haven't you?"
Sela smiled faintly and shook her head.
"Since I came here,
I've never met anyone who passed the Power Acceptance Rite at eighteen
and performed as well as you do, Sir Ryn."
Ryn let out a quiet laugh.
"I'm not eighteen…
I'm only fifteen."
Sela's smile vanished instantly, replaced by shock.
"That's impossible…
The rite requires one to be at least eighteen years old, doesn't it?"
This time, it was Ryn who froze.
He knew the rule well, but he hadn't expected his words to shock Sela so deeply.
So he told her everything—
about the desperate circumstances of that day,
and the reason he had been forced to accept the power despite being underage.
When he finished, Sela's expression finally softened.
"I understand now…"
Then she continued in a serious tone,
"Sir Ryn, this is a very grave matter here.
You must never tell anyone else about this."
Ryn nodded immediately.
"I'm sorry for burdening you with my secret,
but I ask that you keep this to yourself as well."
Sela smiled and nodded in return.
"Of course.
I will keep it a secret.
I won't speak of it to anyone."
Their eyes met briefly—
as though sealing a silent pact between them.